What You Should Eat

What you should eat is actually rather simple and should be kept that way.  How much you should eat is another story.  (Not because it’s complex, but how would we know based on what we read on the internet, hear on popular TV shows, news reports on diet studies and all of the experts whose sole purpose seems to be to confuse us.)  After years of studying all of the evidence, the answer to what you should eat is: 

1) Water or plant based diets rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.

2) Healthy fats like olive oil to cook with and to use as a basis for salad dressings

3) Lean proteins and minimize your consumption of red meats and saturated fats.  Avoid trans-fats totally. 

Paramount to weight control is the restriction of excess calories to avoid weight gain.  Exercise is the other half of the weight question. The more you exercise the more you can eat. If you can’t control your appetite then exercise more. The Tour de France riders eat 8-12 THOUSAND calories a day while maintaining a lean and low body fat physique. 

When observing people that live at a healthy weight one will notice a foundation of daily exercise and weight control.  These two items are closely related and will drastically influence the likelihood of you living a healthy, energetic, vibrant and creative life. On the other hand, observe what fat people eat and do, and don’t eat or do that. If you go to a restaurant and the people eating there are all obese leave.

A foundation of exercise and weight control will affect what you eat, how often you eat and how your food affects you.  Once you begin thinking of food in terms of fuel, then it is natural that a change in your behavior will follow. Adopt the mental attitude that food is primarily fuel - because that is exactly what it is.  Choose behaviors associated with “eating to live” and not “living to eat”.

Why what you should eat is tied to exercise is because it is linked through a simple rule of energy balance.  The energy balance is measured by the calories we take in minus calories that we burn.  Plus or minus balances are equal to your weight change.  If you burn the same amount of calories that you eat each day, then your body does not have anything left over to store in fat cells and your weight will remain the same.  Eat more than you burn and you end up storing fat and adding pounds.  Exercising on a daily basis helps you to regulate your calorie burn and is vital in controlling your weight and any weight loss effort.  It really doesn’t take that long to get everything out of sync.  Take a 20 year old woman that weighs 100 pounds.  Say this 20 year old were to gains 3 pounds over the holiday season and add another 2 pounds over the course of the next 50 weeks.  By the end of the year when she turns 21, she would have gained 5 pounds, or increased her body weight by 5%.  If she continued to do this, gaining 5% per year, by the time she turns 34 she would be weighing 200 pounds!

A good profile for caloric intake or guideline for most of us is a balance of carbohydrates (50%) protein (20%) and fats (30%). However, there are good and bad carbohydrates, good and bad proteins and good and bad fats.  You want to be eating regular, balanced small meals throughout the day.  If not, then only eat when you’re hungry.  No matter what, don’t eat very much.  If you feel yourself getting full, you’ve probably eaten too much.

Carbohydrates

– what is a carbohydrate?  Simply stated, carbs = sugar and sugar = fuel. So, carbs eaten in the right manner is good.  And, no carbs is bad. 

Carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function.  Carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy diet.  Some carbohydrates are far better than others but remember, some are empty in nutrients and some are downright unhealthy.

The Good Carbs

One distinction to make with carbohydrates is simple vs. complex. White bread or sugar are examples of simple carbohydrates. They are rapidly absorbed and converted to glucose in the body. Other forms of carbohydrate can take longer to be converted in the body to this fuel source of glucose. We refer to these as complex carbohydrates. Vegetables will tend to be more complex. Preparation can affect the form as well. A cooked carrot will have the carbohydrates converted to a more simple and easily assimilated for. Raw carrots will take longer to assimilate. Glycemic index is a measure of the simple vs. complex nature of the carbohydrates. Why does this matter? If you need quick energy then simple may be the answer. Let’s go back to the professional bike riders. They often consume pure glucose sources for rapid assimilation and energy use. For the rest of us, it is generally better to have a gentle slope to our glucose curve rather than a rapid spike. The best sources of complex carbohydrates are vegetables, and of course beans. Fruits and grains are sources of simple carbohydrates. These vegetable sources of carbs promote good health by also delivering vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of important phytonutrients.  When choosing grains, make sure they are whole grains. 

The best sources of whole grain carbohydrates are oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and brown rice. Learn to identify the whole grain stamp or see if whole grain is listed first on the ingredient list (label).  Whole grains deliver the outer (bran) and inner (germ) layers along with energy-rich starch. The body can’t digest whole grains as quickly as it can digest the highly processed carbohydrates such as white flour. Because it takes the body longer to process and convert to energy, this keeps blood sugar and insulin levels from rising, then, falling too quickly.  This is a common cause of the roller coaster effect causing you to feel hungry or weak within a short period of time after having eaten.  Getting a better control of blood sugar and insulin can keep hunger at bay and may prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. Another reason is because a growing body of research suggests that eating a diet rich in whole grains may also protect against heart disease.

The Not So Good Carbs

More and more we are seeing how the easily digested carbohydrates derived from white bread, white rice, pastries, sodas, sugared waters and other highly processed foods may contribute to weight gain, sabotage efforts to lose weight and cause diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. 

When choosing your carbs, consider these tips…

1. Start your day with protein. Eggs, turkey bacon, protein drinks are just a few. We’ll provide recipes as we go along. Vegetables are good any time of the day. Buy a good juicer and start juicing vegetables. Buy good protein powder to add to your concoctions. I try to keep soaked almonds (raw of course) in the refrigerator and add them to my smoothies. I add water, a little ice, some frozen berries (no sugar added), a scoop of protein powder and then crank up the blender. I bought one several years ago that will grind up the kitchen sink. I like the VitaMix brand but there are others that are good as well. Get or make good quality protein bars to take with you when you leave the house. Remember, frequent small meals.

2. If you must eat grains then make sure they are whole grains. If you choose to eat bread then make sure it is a whole grain also.  Try a hot cereal, like old-fashioned oats, or a cold cereal that lists a whole grain.  There are several whole grains available.  You’ve probably not heard of most of these, but more than likely you’ve been eating them anyway, just in a processed, refined form. 

  • Brown rice (including quick-cooking brown rice)
  • Corn, whole cornmeal, popcorn
  • Oat groats, steel-cut oats, rolled oats (including quick cooking and instant oatmeal)
  • Whole rye
  • Hulled barley (pot, scotch, and pearled barley often have much of their bran removed)
  • Triticale (pronounced tri-ti-kay-lee)
  • Whole wheat berries, whole wheat bulgur, whole wheat couscous and other strains of wheat such as kamut and spelt
  • Millet
  • Teff (reported to be the world’s smallest grain and to have a sweet, malt-like flavor)
  • Buckwheat, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), wild rice, and amaranth are considered whole grains even though botanically they are not in the grain family of plants

3. Avoid potatoes as much as possible but if it seems impossible, at least back way off.  Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are highly encouraged.  Instead of potatoes, go with brown rice, bulgur, wheat berries, whole wheat pasta, or another whole grain with your dinner.  Try mashed cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes.

4. Choose whole fruit instead of juice. Read the label on the juices and make sure that sugar has not been added.  The value of eating your fruit versus drinking your fruit is twofold.  First of all, eating an orange will provide twice as much fiber and half the sugar of that of a 12 ounce glass of orange juice.  Second, eating your fruit is more likely to fill you up and to help curb your appetite. 


5. Consider eating beans on a regular basis.  Beans are an excellent source of slowly digested carbohydrates as well as an excellent source of protein.

6. As a rule: don’t drink your calories!

Protein

– if it runs fast, flies fast or swims fast

Protein is essential to the diet.  Both animal protein and vegetable protein are considered to have the same effects on health. What is important is for you to pay attention to the presentation of the protein, as well as the source.  In other words, the packaging.  Here is what we mean:  a 6-ounce broiled porterhouse steak is a great source of protein, 38 grams worth.  However, it also comes with 44 grams of fat, 16 of which are saturated. For the average person, that is almost 75 percent of the recommended daily intake for saturated fat. This means you’ve got to be rather careful with what you choose for your other meals that day.  Now, should you choose salmon, getting the same amount of protein from salmon (34-38 grams) will bring with it just 18 grams of fat, only 4 of them saturated.  The problem with the salmon is that if it comes from the sea and is high on the food chain it is likely a source of mercury that you want to avoid. If you eat low on the food chain, for example sardines, then the benefits are there without the toxin (mercury). Suggestion; If you go with the porterhouse steak, then for your other meals that day, opt for a protein source like lentils - 8 ounces (one cup) of cooked lentils has 18 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of fat.  Better yet, choose lean cuts or avoid the red meat. And always think of the source. All steaks are not created equal. Buffalo, venison and other wild meats are much higher in the good omega fatty acids as well as lower in saturated fats. Grass fed beef is much better than a cow that has spent the last part of it’s life in a feedlot eating corn.

A wealth of research suggests that eating fish can reduce the risk of heart disease since fish is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fats. As above choose the right fish for regular consumption.  Eggs, which have long been demonized because they contain fairly high levels of cholesterol, aren’t as bad as they’ve been cracked up to be. In fact, an egg is a much better breakfast than a doughnut cooked in an oil rich in trans-fats or a bagel made from refined flour. People with diabetes or heart disease should probably stick with egg whites.  Egg whites are very high in protein and are a fine substitute for whole eggs in omelets and baking.

When possible, go fish and poultry as your animal sources of protein. Remember to avoid the high food chain fish as they concentrate mercury. Eat wild meat as often as possible (like venison, buffalo, ostrich, etc.).

Vegetable sources of protein

With vegetable sources of protein, it is hard to go wrong.  Vegetable sources offer healthy fiber, vitamins and minerals.  The better sources include beans, nuts and whole grains. 
Consider the following suggestions to help you get the good protein.

1. Mix it up. Have an occasional red meat; maybe make it one of your reward foods.  Go with an expensive cut as they tend to be lean.  The added expense will cause most of us to opt for smaller sized servings.  Limit the serving size of red meats to an area about the size of the back of your hand (knuckles to wrist) and about the thickness of a deck of cards - no larger than the size of your fist.  Make it a habit to eat a variety of foods, including proteins.  Don’t get stuck on chicken or turkey.  A variety of healthy foods will help you fight cravings and will ensure that you get all of the amino acids you need. 

2. Avoid the saturated fats whenever possible.  Saturated fats are easy to recognize.  They’re the fats that get solid when at room temperature.  Beans, fish and poultry will provide plenty of protein, with a minimal amount of saturated fat. Learn to stay away from fatty meats; this is a hard one because they do tend to pack the most flavors.  Use whole-milk dairy products sparingly! Dairy products are not what they are cracked up to be.  If you consume a lot of dairy products you owe it to yourself to investigate their value.  Avoid processed meat; actually, you need to avoid all processed foods in general. 

3. When it comes to meat, more and more of the research coming out is suggesting to us that people who eat more than 18 ounces a week of red meat have a higher risk of colon cancer. So make red meat, beef, pork and lamb an occasional part of your diet, not the staple.  Most of the studies indicate a big contributor to the problem is how the meat is grown/raised.  If you are going to eat it, look for cage free, grass/range fed.  The processed stuff we are talking about that has also been linked to cancer is the bacon, hot dogs, lunch (deli) meats.

4. The huge popularity that soy has enjoyed in recent years is not scientifically or medically based.  When you see a study touting the benefits, consider the source.  Whether it is a dairy product and the study is funded by the American Dairy Association or Soy with a study funded by Soy farmers, view the information logically.  Eat soy in moderation.  The evidence of the value of soy, long term anyway, is not available.  What is beginning to show up with diets heavy in tofu and other soy foods are causing concerns.  With any diet, moderation and variety are fundamental.  You’ll see this theme throughout.  Go easy on red meats, dairy products and on packaged soy products.  The picture we are trying to paint here is for you to try and steer clear of the foods that “man” has had a hand in “improving”).

5. Minimizing processed foods, while balancing the good carbs and protein will improve levels of blood triglycerides and HDL.  This may reduce your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other form of cardiovascular disease. Once we adjust to eating in this manner, the results are elevated energy levels, we’ll feel full longer, and not have the hunger pangs and constant cravings.
Remember, when choosing proteins, consider the package.  The protein is good, the saturated fats and trans-fats are not.  The more the food has been processed and influenced by man (or made edible for that matter – think hot dogs or sausage) the further down on your list it should be.

Fats – Fats are good and bad

Fats are important and most people are surprised how you are encouraged to make fats as much as 30% of your diet.  Good sources of fats are the unsaturated fats.  The bad sources are saturated fats and trans-fats. 

Good fats

The more research done on olive oil, the more valuable olive oil becomes to our diet.  Choose monounsaturated fats first (like olive oil). It’s safe to cook with olive oil also.  Avoid hydrogenated oils (man again).  Good food sources for good oils are nuts, seeds, and avocadoes. The fatty fish such as salmon are also excellent sources for good fats but the mercury issue is real and worth remembering. The oils are so valuable that I recommend taking a fish oil supplement. More about that later. They molecularly distill the mercury out without damaging the essential fatty acids you are after.  These good fats boost healthy cholesterol levels (HDL) and are shown to protect the heart from sudden and potentially deadly rhythm problems. 

Minimize your consumption of saturated fats.  Saturated fats naturally occur in food sources such as animal protein, so keep a balance and focus on variety as well as moderation.  Avoid trans-fats all together.  The “bad” fats, saturated and trans-fats will increase the risk for certain diseases. The “good” fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats will lower disease risk. The key here is to substitute good fats for bad fats and to avoid trans-fats.
When talking about fats, a question that always arises is cholesterol.  Although it is still important to govern the amount of cholesterol you eat, especially if you have diabetes, dietary cholesterol isn’t nearly as bad as it has been portrayed to be. Cholesterol in the bloodstream is what is most important. This is a very complex subject and genetics can play a huge role. You may have been blessed with good genes and don’t have much of an issue with cholesterol. On the other hand, you may be cursed with bad genetics and require aggressive intervention and maybe medication to control your cholesterol. The first intervention is always lifestyle. Eat better and exercise more. A primary influence on blood cholesterol level is the mix of fats in your diet.  The mix being how much of the bad fats you are including with the good fats. Make the dense calories that eat every day (FAT) be good of exceptionally good quality.

A couple of pointers regarding fats;

1. Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking and baking. Olive oil is the most accessible plant-based oil. It is rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. Incorporate this into your diet.  For example, use olive oil on your sweet potato fries or when dressing up a salad.  Get an oil mister and compliment your dishes by spicing your spring vegetables or salads with olive oil-based vinaigrette. 

2. Avoid trans- fat.  Read the label when shopping and don’t eat fried foods when eating out unless the chef can assure you trans-fats weren’t used.  Taste is acquired; develop new tastes for foods that are not fried foods.  Learn where trans-fats are often used, such as in biscuits.  By the way, biscuits don’t have to be cooked in trans-fats and some chefs have gone to the elimination of trans-fats in their recipes.  Ask. 

3. Butter.  Read the label.  Most options at the super market are going to take you from butter to soft tub margarine.  The label you are looking for is the one with zero grams of Trans- fat and does NOT contain partially hydrogenated oils. As above, olive oil is better. Develop a taste for it.

4. Eat at least one good source of omega-3 fats each day. Fatty fish (mercury levels mandate a complete article), walnuts, and olive oil all provide omega-3 fatty acids. Read up on omega-3 fats.  See if you might be suffering from the symptoms of someone deficient in this area.  You need omega 3s every day and I believe the safest and best way is to take a good supplement from cold water fish where the mercury is removed. (see the resources section)

5. Go lean on meat and milk. Unfortunately beef, pork, lamb, and dairy products are high in saturated fat. Unfortunate because these are American staples. Unfortunate because most of us were raised on these foods and have had them ingrained in our lifestyle.  Behavior changes will include eating these products in moderation and choosing low-fat milk or cheese from low-fat milk if you must have these in your diet. Choose lean animal proteins.  Even then, consume in moderate to small amounts. 

Don’t feed the processed sugar-salt and the saturated, trans-fat dragons. Fats are important, so choose healthy fats, limit saturated fats, and avoid trans- fat.
The total amount of fat you eat, high or low, is NOT what is linked to disease, what is linked with disease is the type of fat you eat.

Balancing carbs, proteins and fats are the three primary elements in the foundation to eating healthy.  These are the macronutrients, the foods that make up the majority of what we should eat.  Within the foundation to eating healthy are an additional six components we can incorporate to guide us to a healthy eating lifestyle;  Vegetables, fruits, fibers, calcium, supplements and water.

Fruits and Vegetables

A diet rich in vegetables and fruits has endless benefits. It decreases our chances of having a heart attack or stroke, increases the possibility of protecting against some types of cancers, lowers blood pressure, helps avoid the painful intestinal ailment called diverticulitis and guards against cataract and macular degeneration (the major causes of vision loss among people over age 65).  Not to mention, it tastes good and adds variety to the diet and easily converts to useable, sustainable energy.  The rules on quantity are simple, a minimum of at least 5 servings a day. Go for color and variety.  Think rainbow; dark greens, yellows, orange, red and so forth.  Raw is better.

Some easy tips to make it happen

1. Keep fruit in a big bowl or basket where you will see it. 

2. Focus on eating vegetables at every meal.  If you’re a big eater, eat a whole plate of vegetables at every meal.  Get creative with your salads.  Load them up with a variety of vegetables, nuts and lean meats.  Stir fry at least once a week.  Remember, it is good to eat multiple meals and snacks throughout the day.  Fruits and vegetables make this easy and efficient.  Plus, it’s hard to get fat on them.

3. Explore the produce aisle and choose something new. Variety is the key to a healthy diet. Get out of a rut and try some new fruits and vegetables.  Taste is acquired.

4. Eat potatoes sparingly. Choose other vegetables that are packed with more nutrients and provide the more slowly digested carbs. 

5. If you eat meat, then do it in moderation. A smarter meal balance is 80% vegetables and 20 % meat.  For those of us that are big meat eaters, keeping this formula in check helps to keep us from dwelling on the portion of meet.

It’s hard to argue with the health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits.  Besides having more energy and supporting weight control, you’ll have lower blood pressure, a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and probably some cancers; lower risk of eye and digestive problems; and a mellowing effect on blood sugar that can help keep appetite in check.

The minimum recommended servings are 5, the goal is to aim for 9 (that’s only 4½ cups) of vegetables and fruits a day.  It’s really not that much.  All you really need is an apple, an orange, a side salad and half a plate of vegetables with one of your meals. 
If you are always in a hurry, on the go, or find yourself strapped for time when it comes to preparing a meal, invest in a juicer and a bunch of to go containers.  Observe Jack LaLaine and emulate.

Fiber

Another good reason to eat a diet that is primarily vegetable, beans and whole fruits is fiber.  Most people are confused about fiber.  Just know that when you eat a healthy diet rich in vegetables and fruits, you usually get most of the fiber you’ll need.  And this is good because getting this fiber means you’ll also be lowering your risk of diabetes, heart disease, diverticulitis, and constipation. 
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body can’t digest. Most adult women should shoot for over 20 grams of fiber a day; men should shoot for over 30 grams. Fiber sources are whole fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, breakfast cereals and all manner of beans.

When planning your calories some tips to help include fiber in your food sources are;

1. Go with whole fruit instead of juice. Whole apples and whole oranges are packed with a lot more fiber and a lot fewer calories than their liquid counterparts.

2. Instead of that doughnut, cookies or chips for a snack; eat some fruit.  Berries, melons, apples, oranges.  It’s also a great way to start the day and you can curve your sweet tooth through their natural sweeteners.

3. When checking labels looking for whole grains, keep an eye out for the ones that say fiber-filled whole grains. Choosing foods that list whole grains (like whole wheat or whole oats) as a first ingredient is a smart choice. Bread, cereal, crackers and other grain foods should have at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.

4. Beans!  Here they are again.  Eat more beans.  Probably because beans are cheap, they are all too easily forgotten as a good food source.  Not only do beans taste great, they’re an excellent source of fiber AND good carbs, good proteins and other nutrients.

5. Try new dishes.  Look into international recipes that use whole grains, whole wheat pasta or beans.

Calcium is good.  Calcium does NOT mean dairy products

By now you’ve noticed that we’ve cautioned against milk and most dairy products.  Dairy products are being promoted as “the” source for calcium and this is just not the case.  Calcium is the key for healthy bones, lowering the risk of osteoporosis and colon cancer. It is just that milk is not a very good source. 
Getting enough calcium from childhood through adulthood helps build bones up and then helps slow the loss of bone as we age. It’s not clear, though, that we need as much calcium as is generally recommended, and it’s also clear that dairy products are really not the best source of calcium for most people.  The high intake of dairy products is closely related to prostate cancer and possibly ovarian cancer.  Plus, dairy products can be high in saturated fat as well as retinol (vitamin A), which at high levels can paradoxically weaken bones.
Calcium is good, and non-dairy sources of calcium include leafy green vegetables, broccoli, collards, bok choy, fortified soy milk, baked beans, and supplements.
I know it goes against what we’ve been hearing most of our lives, but the dairy aisle just isn’t a very healthy food source.  Limiting milk and dairy products to one or two servings is a good start. 

Here are a few more tips; 

1. Look beyond the dairy aisle. Limit milk and dairy foods to no more than one to two servings per day. Focus on getting calcium from other sources. Calcium-rich non-dairy foods such as leafy greens are also a good source of vitamin K, another key nutrient for bone health.  And, don’t forget beans.

2. Vitamin D also plays a key role along with calcium and vitamin K in boosting bone health. Look for a multivitamin that supplies at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day.  Consider taking an extra supplement to get you up to 2,000 IU to 4,000 IU per day. Some people may need more than 6,000 to 8,000 IU per day for adequate blood levels, particularly if they have darker skin, spend winters in the northern U.S., or have little exposure to direct sunlight. If you fall into these groups, ask your physician to check your blood test for vitamin D. The test to have done is 25-OH Vitamin D level.

3. Get active. Regular exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging or strength training is an essential part of building and maintaining strong bones. Find an exercise you will do.
You don’t have to sweat, but sweating isn’t a bad thing.  It washes off. The body adapts to its purpose.  It will conform to the use it is put to. If the body is not used, its shape will eventually resemble furniture. Don’t sit if you don’t have to.

4. Look for multivitamins with mixed carotenoids in place of retinol (vitamin A).

5. During youth and young adulthood is the period when bones build up to their peak strength. By maintaining bone-healthy lifestyle’s, exercise, adequate calcium, and adequate vitamin D you can help them keep strong bones through adult years.
 

Alcohol

If you drink, moderate drinking can be healthy.  If you don’t drink, there’s no need to start. There has been a lot of press about drinking and heart health benefits.  For some people, the risks of drinking outweigh the benefits.  There are several ways to boost your heart health and lower your risk of diabetes, such as getting more active, staying at a healthy weight, or eating healthy fats and whole grains. 

When it comes to drinking, keep the following in mind;

1. If you drink, drink in moderation.  It doesn’t seem to matter whether it is wine, beer or whiskey.  They all seem to offer the same benefits.  Moderation’s the word (no more than one drink per day for women, and no more than two drinks per day for men).  This is daily and not to exceed 15 per week.  And no, you can’t save all of the drinks till the weekend. Read about red wine and resveratrol. It looks like it may prove to be an important longevity supplement.

2. Take a multivitamin with folic acid. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin that may help lower the risk of heart disease and cancers of the colon and breast. Those who drink may benefit the most from getting extra folate, since alcohol moderately depletes our body’s stores. The amount in a standard multivitamin—400 micrograms—is a minimum and if you’re of child bearing age and could get pregnant you should get more with your supplements.

3. Talk to your doctor about your drinking habits if you, or your friends, think you may have a problem with drinking.

4.  Don’t drink and drive.  Don’t let someone drive that has been drinking, and don’t ride with them.

Vitamins

A daily multivitamin is a great nutrition insurance policy. A multi-vitamin isn’t likely enough. For example, most multivitamins are inadequate for vit D supplementation.
Trying to follow all the studies on vitamins and health can make your head swirl. But, when it’s all boiled down, the take–home message is actually pretty simple: Take a GOOD daily multivitamin, not the ones you find at the discount store or in your local grocery store, a good fish oil supplement for the omega 3s, a vitamin D supplement, and others as your healthcare provider instructs (choose one that is knowledgeable about this topic). The folic acid in most multivitamins helps prevent neural tube defects in newborns; it may lower the risk of heart disease, colon cancer, and breast cancer. Vitamin D from a multivitamin or single supplement can lower the risk of colon and possibly many other cancers.
While a multivitamin, a fish oil supplement and a vitamin D supplement can help fill some of the gaps in a less than optimal diet. It is most important to eat a healthy diet.
A multivitamin provides some insurance against deficiencies but is far less important for health than the healthy food patterns described in this paper.  Choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and healthy oils, and low in the processed meats and red meat from the feedlot production of cattle.

1. Avoid the unhealthy fats—let healthy eating be your guide.

2. Choose a daily multivitamin. A daily multivitamin is an inexpensive nutrition insurance policy. Try to take one every day.

3. Think about D. In addition to its bone health benefits, there’s growing evidence that getting some extra vitamin D can help lower the risk of colon and breast cancer. We’re seeing a huge deficiency in people that are prone to getting the flu and “colds”.  Aim for getting 2,000 to 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day especially during the flu season. If someone concerns you that this is too much then have them read Dr. Hollick’s review in the New England Journal of Medicine last year and do the blood test. The goal is a level above 60—this likely will require an extra vitamin D pill, in addition to your multivitamin. This vitamin is being studied at this time in Canada as a deterent to catching H1N1 influenza. It is known to boost the immune system.

4. See a health care provider knowledgeable about nutraceutical supplementation. There are many tests like the 25-OH Vit D test that will demonstrate the level of these vital aspects of your diet. You may need more supplementation. 

5.  Don’t be swayed by the wild health claims of the many health supplements advertised on TV and the Internet. If they sound too good to true, they may be. If they advertise to cure cancer, watch out! 

H2O

Even though the topic is what you should eat, we’ve included water because water is one of the nutrients we need.  There are 6 essential nutrients the body cannot survive without; carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water.  Carbs, proteins and fats are classified as macronutrients because they are needed in relatively large amounts.  Vitamins and minerals are termed micronutrients because they are needed in much smaller amounts.  Water, even though it does not provide energy, is also considered a micronutrient.
So, if the body chemistry make up is in excess of 70% fluids (muscles tissue, organs, blood, bone) then why not emphasize consuming more water?  And, why would water be classified a micronutrient?  Because, if you are eating a water or plant based diet, you’re more than likely getting an adequate amount of water.  The formula for just about everyone is ; 8 cups of 8 ounces of water per day.  If you’re drinking a lot of soda’s, coffee, tea and eating a lot of processed foods, you NEED to be drinking 8, 8 ounce glasses a day.  That stuff does not provide you water and actually dehydrates you.  If you’re exercising a lot, sweating a lot, are thirsty? Drink water.  Don’t take a chance on getting dehydrated.  It messes up your chemistry balance.  Note that thirst is typically a sign of dehydration.  However, it might be your body confusing you with a thirst signal rather than a hunger signal.  A good idea when you get a hunger signal and you’ve recently eaten is to drink some water.  For some reason, sometimes our body mixes these signals up.
Lose the soda’s, period!.  Sweetened or unsweetened it doesn’t matter – they’re just not good for you.  If you feel as though you need to order a diet soda, you probably got an issue going with your sugar levels.  The sugared and fake sugared drinks will just make it worse.
 
Coffee, tea and alcohol should be consumed in moderation (by the way, the “water” in coffee, tea, sports drinks? Don’t count that as part of your daily 8 glasses.).  So, when we sit down to eat a meal, what should we drink?  According to a wise philosopher, and proven accurate through the annals of history – “the secret to good eating, is to not drink” - Socrates.  If you are in the habit of drinking with your meals (most of us are), make it water.  You can’t go wrong.  For those of us that have given up cokes, or tea or a big glass of milk with our sandwich, this new habit is one we’ve learned to embrace. 
Most of the water put before us to drink is not of very good quality. Become an expert on water quality. Buy a reverse osmosis machine and quit buying all the bottled water. It will probably be of higher purity and quality than the bottled water (if you have both checked by a reputable lab). Think about all of that plastic going to the landfill.

Don’t drink your calories! Save them for the food. Smoothies are an exception if you are using that as a protein-nutrient source.

Summary

The question of what you should eat is simple.  Eat from the healthy food sources listed here.  Once you start eating healthy and supplement with exercise – everything improves.  Your weight, your energy levels, your health and your outlook in general. 
If your immediate goal is to lose weight and you go on a diet, you’ll most likely fail over the long run.  Instead, think nutrition.  If you want to lose weight and you change your lifestyle/behavior by focusing on eating healthy, then you’ll most likely succeed.  Our experience has taught us that diets don’t work in the long run because the participants usually will not maintain the lifestyle/behavior change necessary for a diet to succeed.  If they did, it wouldn’t be called a diet - it would be called a lifestyle change.  And this means the person makes a change and they stay that way.

Most of the published diets are an attempt to regulate caloric intake to “at or below” calories burned. Eating more calories than are burned results in weight gain, and eating less calories than are burned results in weight loss. Keep track! Count the calories. Learn about portion size when counting calories. Also, learn about calories burned. You’ll have a different relationship with a candy bar when you look at it as one and a half hours of moderate jogging to burn those calories.

A few observations
Make a list of everything you like that isn’t in the produce or meat department, and don’t eat it, this even includes the dairy aisle.
The best laxative is water, high cellulose fruit, vegetables and exercise.
Observe where the large (obese) people eat, and don’t eat there.
Keeping your teeth clean and your mouth shut helps to cut down on compulsive eating.
Sleeping problems?  Improved sleep comes as a result of eating healthy and exercise. 
Remember, it has been scientifically validated that it is better to be fit and fat than not to be fit.  Fit means exercise.  When you add healthy eating habits the fat tends to disappear.